"If it makes you feel any better, your mind is a pretty boring place so I never go there. Don't want to bore myself to death." This was the only time Lucas could really be himself, and not the narcissist sociopath everyone thought he was.
Lucas's quip about not wanting to bore himself to death was met with a skeptical arch of Nikolas's brows. The carriage ride had been silent for the most part, both men preoccupied with their own thoughts, though their motives for this mission remained intertwined with Charlotte's fate.
"Is that your idea of an apology?" Nikolas questioned, his tone carrying a hint of amusement despite the seriousness of their task.
"You have to give me some credit," Lucas replied, a touch of defensiveness in his voice.
Nikolas couldn't help but shake his head at Lucas's antics. "Are you reading my mind now?" he joked, half-serious.
"I don't have to read your mind to know you want to maim and kill me; it's written all over your face," Lucas retorted, a wry smirk playing on his lips.
The carriage came to a halt in front of an abandoned building that had clearly seen better days. Lucas couldn't help but scoff at the irony of their destination.
"A church, really?" he remarked, his disbelief evident.
"That's not why we're here, and even atonement of sins can't save you," Nikolas quipped back, his tone tinged with sarcasm.
As they approached the church doors, Lucas felt a strange resistance when he tried to enter. An invisible barrier seemed to block his path, causing him to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
"I don't suppose your friend has a problem with the supernatural, do they?" Lucas mused, half-jokingly.
"No, but they do have a problem with unwanted visitors," Nikolas replied cryptically, stepping through the barrier without any hindrance.
"Like me?" Lucas questioned, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Like you," Nikolas confirmed, stepping through the invisible barrier without difficulty.
Just then a woman appeared out of thin air startling Lucas a bit. But the lord who was already used to this was not startled in the least way.
"Lucas, this is Meredith-a white witch and good friend of mine. Meredith Lucas" he stated introducing the two to each other.
Meredith's introduction brought a sense of focus to the room. Lucas eyed her warily, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.
"So you have no idea where she is now "they had briefed the witch on what happened at the inn and the mansion and how they needed her help to locate charlotte.
"now if we did, we wouldn't be here , would we mary?"Lucas answered with a sick smile.
Nikolas, ever the mediator, interjected. "We were hoping you could use a locator spell."
The dimly lit room provided an eerie backdrop for their conversation. Candles flickered, casting shadows that danced along the walls. The shelves lined with ancient scrolls and potions added to the mystical ambiance.
"Do you have anything of hers? Any possessions?" Meredith inquired, her tone businesslike.
Lucas shook his head, prompting a sigh from Meredith. "I need something of hers for the spell to work," she explained patiently.
"you said she was your slave"she added
"yes." lucas answered
"which means you bought her?"
"no she willingly walked up to my front gate and she'd want to serve me"
Lucas's sarcastic remark about Charlotte belonging to him elicited a reproachful glance from Nikolas before Lucas apologized and allowed Meredith to proceed.
"since you bought her, that means she belongs to you. And since we don't have anything that belongs to her..." Meredith trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air.
"We'll just have to use what she belongs to," Nikolas concluded, clarifying their plan.
Lucas had not a clue what they were inferring and he wasn't so sure he wanted to know.
He was made to hold Meredith's hand and think of nothing and no one but charlotte but that wasn't a hassle at all. For some reason, the slave girl was all he could about.
All he'd been thinking about.
Meredith began chanting some spells with her eyes squeezed shut. Soon the candles began to flicker and the room around them began to shake. Though Meredith was still incomprehendible, her voice was undeniably louder.
So Lucas focused on the first time he saw her, at the graveyard and the last time at the inn.
Then it happened, the candles flickered off only to return almost immediately and Meredith quickly retracted her hand. She walked over to the shelf and withdrew a paper, one no longer in use and began to draw.
The two men simply watched.
Lucas was the first to look at the drawing and when he spotted the five sided star , he creased his brows.
"I know where she is."